Coca-Cola Zero, or Coke Zero, is a product of The Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie (0.3 kcal per 100ml)[1] variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to men, who were shown to associate diet drinks with women. It is marketed as having tasting that is indistinguishable from standard Coca-Cola, as opposed to Diet Coke which has a different flavor profile.[2][3]

The Coca-Cola Zero logo has generally featured the script Coca-Cola logo in red with white trim on a black background, with the word "zero" underneath in lower case in the geometric typefaceAvenir (or a customized version of it). Some details have varied from country to country.

Contents

All versions of Coke Zero sold in various countries are based on the same flavoring formula, and all are carbonated. One liter of Coke Zero contains 96 mg caffeine.[4] Additionally, artificial sweeteners are used. In the U.S., this includes aspartame and acesulfame potassium.[5] However, the exact combination of sweeteners and preservatives used varies from market to market.

Sodium cyclamate, a relatively inexpensive artificial sweetener banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1969 and once believed to be a carcinogen, has been used in the Coca-Cola Zero versions produced in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Venezuela, Chile, and some Central American countries. It was used for a time in Mexico, before a consumer campaign led to its removal from the drink in 2008.[6] In June 2009 Venezuela ordered Coca-Cola to withdraw its Coca-Cola Zero product, as it contained more than the legal levels of sodium cyclamate.[6]

Coca-Cola Cherry Zero is a flavored variation of Coca-Cola Zero. In late January 2007, it was introduced to store shelves and was widely available throughout the United States before its official debut, which occurred on 7 February 2007 at New York City's Fashion Week.[7] Coca-Cola introduced a vanilla-flavored version, Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero, concurrently with the relaunch of the original Coca-Cola Vanilla in May 2007.[8] Coke Vanilla Zero is available in the U.S., Australia and Sweden.

In February 2010, Coca-Cola Zéro sans caféine (Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Zero) was released in France.[9] In Japan, Coca-Cola Zero Free was launched in April 2010.[10] In the Netherlands, "Coca-Cola Zero Caffeine Free" has been sold since the start of 2011. In the USA, the product has been sold since July 2013.

Coke Zero was Coca-Cola's largest product launch in 22 years.[11] It is primarily marketed towards young adult males[12][13] and has been nicknamed "Bloke Coke" in the UK.[11] In the U.S., advertising has been tailored to its targeted market by describing the drink as "calorie-free" rather than "diet", since young adult males are said to associate diet drinks with women.[13] U.S. marketing has also emphasized its similarity in taste to sugared Coca-Cola through a 2007 U.S. viral marketing campaign that suggested the company's executives were so angry over the drinks' similarities, they were considering suing their coworkers for "taste infringement".[13]

In Australia, the product's launch was promoted by a fake front group;[14] the campaign included outdoor graffiti and online spamming that mentioned a fake blog.[15][16] Once exposed, consumer advocates assailed the campaign as misleading and established the Zero Coke Movement[17] to comment on the ethics of Coke's activities.[18]

In 2013, Coca-Cola swapped the logo on Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero bottles and cans in many European countries with 150 of local most popular names for a summer-long "Share a Coke" campaign.[20] The same campaign was used in North America the following summer.

In 2014, Coca-Cola relaunched Coke Zero with a "Just Add Zero" campaign in the UK and Ireland.

For Christmas, 2013, Coke Zero launched an interactive website that allowed people to customize the designs of their Christmas sweater.[21] These knitted items of clothing have a significant role in United Kingdom Christmas traditions.[22] The concept behind the campaign was to subtly remind people that ads don’t have to focus on the products to convey the warm, inviting essence of the holidays.[23]

On the website, people could detail the cut, pattern, and icons for their sweater.[24] and join a popularity contest.[25] Users could choose from Christmas trees and Santa’s head, to reindeers, sleighs, and turkeys.[26] This initiative was tied to a social media campaign [27] where the top 100 sweater designs with the most votes were manufactured and shipped to the contest winners.[28]

The campaign was a partnership between Coca Cola and an independent advertising network, Droga5 New York.[29]

According to the Coca-Cola Company, the website generated nearly 42,000 sweater designs in its first four days.[30]